Robotic Regeneration
by RenaissanceGrrl
Summary: Amy Rose discovers that E-102 Gamma has been hurt, and maybe killed! Can she save him? It does get a bit morbid, but no blood.
1. Unprejudiced Compassion

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic or any of his buds. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue.  
  
Authoress's notes: This falls in continuity with both the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books and the Sonic Adventure game for the Dreamcast. Sorry to all the cartoon fans.  
  
  
"Just watch! I'll make that Sonic respect me!" Amy Rose shouted from the lower deck of the half-sunken Egg Carrier. "And by that time, it's gonna be too late!" She jumped up excitedly and impulsively blew a kiss to the wind.  
She was feeling pretty happy at that moment. She had found her new friend Birdie's family for him and they were fleeing the Egg Carrier that very instant.  
Amy looked over her shoulder to watch the Flickie Bird trio flying off into the distance. She noticed that the white one--Birdie's father--lingered a moment, hovering over the place where she had just defeated Zero, the robot who had been after Birdie.  
hen Birdie's father quickly darted off to join his brood.  
"Huh?" Amy frowned. "Something's up, and I wanna know what!"  
She ran to the cart that conveyed people between the upper and lower decks of the massive vessel. The short ride seemed agonizingly slow this time. When she reached the top, she turned and ran toward the part of the vessel with the motor, which was inside green glass casing. It was on the roof of this case where she had defeated Zero.  
Now as she looked about to see what Birdie's father had seen, she could only make out some metal glinting in the bright sun. She jumped from the bridge to the top of the glassed-in mechanism and ran to whatever it was she'd seen.  
She got about four feet away from it, then halted in her tracks.  
"Mr. Robot!" she screamed.  
It was, indeed, the robot that had released her from Robotnik, when she refused to let him take Birdie. The things she had said to him had made him override his own programming and release her. She thought he had escaped from Robotnik, but apparently something had happened.  
"Mr. Robot? Please answer me!" She came to his side and knelt, looking to see if she could find out what had happened to him. His back was to her, so she carefully rolled him over onto her lap and came across a grisly sight--two large holes burnt into his chest. She gasped. "Who did this to you?" she cried aloud.  
No answer.  
Amy frowned at the robot. Something had happened, she didn't know what, but she knew something was wrong with him. Robots don't die, she knew that, but what happened to them when they were--"fatally"--injured? "I don't even know your name, Mr. Robot," she said, "But I feel sorry for you just like I did Birdie. Even though I don't know what the problem is, or how to fix it, I'll try my best to save you."  
Amy's thoughts whirled quickly about in her head. "Sonic and the others are back in Station Square," she said. "They won't leave until I'm back, because otherwise I'll have no way home. Mr. Morgan is with them, and he might be able to fix Mr. Robot! I guess I'll just have to take Mr. Robot back to Station Square with me."  
Amy looked around her, and spotted a small motor/lifeboat floating without a care beside the Egg Carrier. "All right!" she cried. "Getting to Station Square will be easy!" She would have hated to return to Station Square the way she came--walking through the Mystic Ruins jungle--with the robot.  
She lifted him--he was much lighter than he looked--and decided that with his bulky frame the easiest way to carry him was on her back, holding his "arms" in front of her.  
She jumped off the glass case (with robot in tow) and walked to the boat. She set the robot up in the back and took the wheel.  
  
  
  
So what's going to happen to Amy's robot buddy? Stay tuned! 


	2. Diagnosis and Alternative

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of his buds. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue.  
  
  
Authoress's Notes: Like before, this is in continuity with the comics and the "Sonic Adventure" game for the Dreamcast. Sorry to the cartoon fans.  
  
  
It wasn't even an hour before Amy arrived in Station Square. She drove up to the tiny dock closest to the hotel where she and her friends were staying and lifted the robot back onto her back.  
"Hello?" she called. Apparently none of her friends were nearby. She ran across the street, into the hotel and checked with the desk clerk.  
"Sorry, Miss Amy, but they're all out looking for you except Mr. Nathaniel Morgan. I was told to contact them immediately if you arrived."  
"Thank you, mister."  
Amy went upstairs as quickly as carrying her robot friend would allow, and knocked on the door to Nate Morgan's room.  
It opened quickly. "Amy! You've given us all a fright...what is that you've got there?"  
"Actually, Mr. Morgan, I wanted to talk to you about him..."  
"Well, then, come in, sit down, and tell me."  
Amy followed him in and sat down. She quickly poured out the whole ordeal, or at least what she knew of it. She finished her story, "He was really nice, Mr. Morgan. Really! He's different from the other robots. Could you...do you think you could save him?"  
"Well, Amy, I'd have to open him up and take a look. That's a pretty bad wound he's got there. We can get started immediately. We'll be here in Station Square a few more days, Mayor Bullyani said something about a hero's ceremony or something."  
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Morgan!"  
"Did you want to watch, Amy?"  
"If you don't mind, Mr. Morgan, I'd like to be here every second, so I can know right away if you find out anything."  
"Fine, Amy." Nate cleared off the largest table in the suite. "Help me lift him up here." (Again, he's light but rather bulky.)  
They laid him on the table and Nate pulled a toolbox out from under his bed. "I always carry this for emergencies," he said.  
Amy watched as he took her friend apart. It struck her as rather morbid, but she watched anyway, not wanting to leave him for a minute.  
The others arrived back and checked on Amy, who had to explain the whole thing again to them. They left quickly after that.  
Nate made several comments along the lines of "...severe damage..." and "...will need replacing.." but other than that the room was silent.  
After a few hours, he pulled out a round disk, about two inches in diameter.  
"Hmm. Amy, bring me my computer and that peripheral drive there...yes, that one, it's a special drive to read this type of disk."  
He plugged it in and hooked up the drive. He took the disk and inserted it.  
He read a few moments in awed silence.  
"What is it?" Amy asked him.  
"Hmm...sensory details, moral principles typed out in text files, video clips of things he's experienced, sound bytes, the like. Essentially it's his personality on a disk."  
"Wow..." Amy breathed. "That's amazing."  
"Yes, it is."  
"So now what?"  
Nate grimaced. "I won't dodge the truth, Amy. Your friend got himself a pretty bad blow. A lot of his internal components are beyond salvaging. It's also very difficult to get replacement parts, because most of them would have to come from Robotropolis. It would be almost impossible to restore him."  
Tears welled up in Amy's eyes. "But--Mr. Morgan--"  
Nate smiled. "I'm not finished, Amy. There is an alternative to restoration. We could build a new--completely different--robotic body and insert this disk into it. We could model it after a Robian. Robotnik couldn't trace it or identify it, as it would be built out of Knothole components. It would be the same person inside, just a different body."  
Amy paused. "And that would work?"  
"It would, and it's the only alternative to junking it."  
"I don't want to junk him, Mr. Morgan..."  
"I can't start until we get home, Amy. You can think it over."  
Amy pursed her lips. "No. I don't want to think it over. I made my decision when I promised I would do everything I could to save him. He's my friend, and I want him back so we can go on being friends."  
Nate's smile went into a downright grin. "All right. We'll start as soon as we arrive home. Now, Amy, I want to go through him and salvage what components I can, maybe to use in rebuilding him, but some maybe not. After this everything that cannot be used I'll junk. Did you want to watch that, too?"  
"No, Mr. Morgan, I think that would make me feel a little sick to my stomach."  
"I understand. I think I would take exactly the same position if the tables were turned. I'll put the disk in a safe place, and when we get to Knothole you and I can start working on him."  
"All right, Mr. Morgan. I'll just go on to my room now."  
"Fine. And Amy," he said.  
"Yes?"  
"You can call me Nate, like Sonic does."  
Amy smiled. "All right."  
  
  
So perhaps Amy may be getting a friend in the form of a Robian? Tune in for Part Three! 


	3. A Second Chance

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic the hedgehog or any of its chracters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue.  
A/N: Sorry this took so long. Please bear with me as I am out of town at the moment and am not on my own computer.  
  
Amy came to Nate's workshop. "It's awfully nice of you to start on Mr. Robot so soon, Nate," she said. "After all, we just got back from Station Square yesterday."  
"To tell the truth, Amy, I'm as anxious to get him up and running as you are. I haven't done this much work with robotics for quite a few years."  
Amy watched him often over the next several days, sometimes even late into the night, as Nate put together parts and wires and things she didn't think she'd ever completely understand.  
Finally he told her it was almost ready--all they needed was the outer shell and then they could insert the disk and turn him on.  
"Amy, we need to make him look like a Robian. Now, every one is different, so it won't be hard, it'll only take me a day, so if you tell me what race you'd like him, I'll draw the rough plans tonight and start first thing in the morning."  
"Me? I get to choose what race he is? Well, umm..."  
"I guess it is a pretty big decision to spring on you like that, but you're the only one responsible for him. If it wasn't for you, he'd be rusting away on the Egg Carrier now, with no chance to live. He has that chance now, but first you have to tell me what he should live as. I can't make him just a robot; he'd never fit in, he'd always stand out."  
"Well...I'm his only real friend so far. Perhaps...well, I don't think he'll care so long as he's alive. But, Nate, do you think that for my sake you could make him...a hedgehog?"  
"Sure! He'll even get to be whatever color you like," Nate offered.  
Amy laughed. "This whole conversation must sound silly. Umm, to me he'll never look right unless he's red with yellow and black on him, like his original shell."  
Nate laughed. "He'll probably want that, too. If you'll excuse me, Amy, I'll go on and get started, and you can come back here to my workshop around four o'clock tomorrow."  
The next afternoon Amy returned as scheduled.  
"Nate?"  
"Come on in, Amy, and look at your friend's outside."  
Amy walked into the back room and saw Nate admiring his work, which was sitting up on one of the several tables.  
He had every right to.  
Amy found herself staring at it. It looked like a red, male Robian hedgehog a little bit older than herself. "Wow...he's handsome, Nate. Looks like he really was roboticized."  
"His left ear is a little crooked, but I think it adds personality."  
Amy grinned. "You're right on both counts. Can we put the disk in now?"  
"Of course. You want to do the honors?"  
"May I?"  
Nate handed her the disk and opened a panel on his back. "Put it in that slot, and then go around front so you're the first thing he sees. I'll activate him."  
Amy carefully and gently slid the disk into place. As she turned to face her friend, Nate said, "Just a warning, I did not know what his voice was like, so when I replaced it, I used that of a male about your age."  
Amy nodded.  
"There!" Nate cried. "I just have to press this switch..."  
Immediately there was beeping and whirring. Amy stared intently at her friend as he began to function.  
Finally his eyes opened. He blinked. "Amy? But I was..."  
"Mr. Robot!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.  
"But I thought I was dead..." he said, simply standing there, not knowing what to do with Amy clinging to him.  
"You were!" Amy exclaimed. "I found you and Nate fixed you up."  
"But I'm...all different." He examined his own hands bewilderedly.  
"Couldn't be helped, young man," Nate said. "It would have been impossible to salvage your original components."  
The robot took this in. "Now I am a hedgehog, like Amy?"  
Amy let go of his neck and put her hands on his shoulders. "Yes. Except you're robotic. You don't mind being a hedgehog, do you? I...I chose it."  
"No. I am glad to be alive again, although I do not comprehend how..."  
"I told Amy you would be, young man. And now that you are, why don't you tell us what happened to you to bring this about?"  
  
  
Authoress's Note: Not much to say, except the notion of bringing 'the robot' back to life in a different body is mine, and so the character created by doing so is mine. He will have a name next chapter. If you want to use him, e-mail me and we'll discuss it.  
RenaissanceGrrl@excite.com 


	4. The Mission of E-102 Gamma

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue.  
  
Nate took Amy and her friend into his living quarters and sat them down at the kitchen table.  
The regenerated robot began to tell his story.  
"I am E-102, second in Robotnik's E-100 series robots. My code name is Gamma. Right before I met Amy, Robotnik sent the five of us out on a mission. I was the one who carried it out successfully. After that he sent the others away and sent me to go get the bird from Amy. I believe she called him Birdie."  
Amy nodded in agreement.  
"I went through the wrong door the first time, and I came across my older brother, E-101, having work done on him. I had defeated him earlier, and Robotnik had said he was coming along to be a spare set of parts. This sight made me wonder if I was to be pitted against him again.  
"I went on to retrieve the bird. Amy refused, and her logic, along with what I had just seen, moved me to ignore my orders. I set her free and she escaped.  
"Not long after, I was summoned to the bridge, where Robotnik instructed me to destroy Sonic, the hedgehog. Amy prevented us from destroying one another and encouraged me to leave Robotnik. I did.  
"I deleted Robotnik's registry from my systems. He was no longer my controller. I was my own master, having rejected my programming.  
"I wished for all my brothers, E-101 Beta, E-103 Delta, E-104 Epsilon, and E-105 Zeta, to be free of Robotnik's control also. Since they were not sentient, like I am, the only sure way to accomplish this was to destroy them. I destroyed Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta. Zeta was aboard the Egg Carrier, and that's where Beta found me. We battled, and I won, but Beta's dying gesture was to shoot me in the chest with his laser. I guess I died, too, because I don't remember anything after that except waking up and  
looking at Amy."  
Amy grinned. "That's where I found you. As Birdie's father was flying off, I saw him look at something, so I went to see what he found so interesting and I found you. It was horrible, seeing you lying there and turning you over and finding those fried-out holes in your chest. I brought you to Nate. He looked at you and found out your personality was on a disk. He said we couldn't fix you but we could build you a new body. We did, and here you are."  
"I owe you both a debt of thanks. Amy, for saving me, and Nate, for doing all that work on me."  
"It was my pleasure," Nate said. "It was just the break I needed from my big project."  
"I wanted to save you," Amy told him. "If I hadn't I would have lost a friend." She smiled at him.  
"You still consider me a friend?"  
"Of course, silly," she affirmed. "Friendship isn't an off-and-on thing. You'll always be my friend."  
He thought that over and let it sink in. "Friends." He stuck out his robotic hand and Amy shook it.  
"You know, you need a name," Amy told him.  
"I am Gamma."  
Nate spoke up. "Robotnik would recognize it."  
"It would not matter, he thinks I am dead. There is no reason someone could not have named their child Gamma at one time or another."  
"True," Nate acknowledged. "If you like the name Gamma there's no reason to make you change it."  
Amy turned to Gamma. "I think it suits you. I need to take you to Princess Sally. Since you originally worked for Robotnik, you'll have to make a pledge of allegiance to her father, King Acorn, if you want to stay here with us."  
"I do, but where will I stay?"  
"We can work that out later," Nate told them. "You two youngsters go on."  
Amy took Gamma's hand and led him off.  
"Now," Nate said, "I am going to make a pot of coffee and get back to my big project--the deroboticizer."  
  
  
Authoress's note: Oooh. Cliffhanger. As stated last chapter, Gamma THE ROBIAN is mine. E-mail me if you want to use him. RenaissanceGrrl@excite.com  
Of course, I will say that you might be best off waiting until all the parts are posted before making any requests. 


	5. A Chance

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic the Hegehog or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue. Gamma is my character. You'll need MY permission to use him. RenaissanceGrrl@excite.com I hate typing all that stuff. I'm sure you all hate reading it. The world must thrive on necessary evils...anyway, on with the fic!  
  
  
Several months passed. Gamma had taken his oath of allegiance and was quite proud of the fact.   
It was decided that since Knothole was crowded already, he could stay with Amy (the only person he really knew at that point). She stacked two mattresses in the corner of her room for him, which he found quite comfortable, as compared to sleeping standing up. At first Amy wondered why he slept, but as he explained, some of his mechanics worked at high speeds and with heavy strain on them all day, and so partially shutting down at night gave them a chance to slow down a bit. He could live without this but he wouldn't need replacement parts so often this way. "Besides," he would say, "There's nothing to do when you're the only one awake!"  
Hanging out with Amy and her other friends did wonders for his vocabulary, going from his original robotic bare minimum to vibrant words and articulate expressions.  
Amy and Gamma had gotten used to always being together, constantly at each other's side. Neither one minded, they enjoyed one another's company very much and got along quite well.  
It was rumored that they harbored "feelings" for one another, but neither one said anything about it to anyone if it was true.  
Gamma was sitting at the table one day, reading (he's sentient, remember? He can have interests) when Amy suddenly burst through the door. "Gamma?"  
"Yes, Amy?"  
"Gamma, Nate wants to talk to ya."  
"Nate--wants to see me--?"  
"Yes! Let's get going! He meant right away, in his workshop."  
The pair ran as fast as their feet could carry them.  
"Nate?" Gamma called.  
"You didn't need to rush," Nate called from his small kitchen, peering at them through the window between his cabinets. "Come on in, you two."  
They entered the kitchen and sat as his table, like they were accustomed to doing. Nate was used to having teenage guests, Sonic had gotten all his crew to understand that just because Nate was getting on in years did not mean he wasn't cool.  
"Gamma, Amy, I have some very important information to give you. You must promise to keep it secret, at least for a little while. Only a few people know--the royal family, Sonic, his parents, and myself, but since this is of great importance to you I have royal permission to tell you two as well."  
"I promise," Amy said.  
"I promise as well," Gamma agreed with her.  
"All right. I have spent several months--no, it's been well over two years--working on the largest project I have ever done. A few weeks ago I completed it. The deroboticizer."  
Amy and Gamma gasped in unison. "Wow," Amy breathed in awe.  
Nate continued. "I know it is a great accomplishment, but it was made possible only by a lot of research. About three months ago I discovered the secret. I was perplexed as to why no one had thought of it sooner. The key knowledge you need to deroboticize a roboticized being is you MUST know the difference between a robot and a roboticized being.  
"I began to research it right away. I studied Sonic's parents and I had Sonic bring me several deactivated--but intact--Shadowbots from Robotropolis.  
"Of course it looks completely different at first glance, but when you strip it all down and look at what's there, the actual components, there's really not much difference, if any at all. There is, however, one single component that roboticized beings have that robots do not." Nate paused. "Either of you care to take a stab at it?"  
Gamma knew. "Their personality on a disk."  
Nate smiled. "None other. I also had Sonic bring me a few Robians--which, unlike the Shadowbots, were not dismantled afterward but are being held in a safe place--and found out how Robotnik overrides free will. There's a blocking chip placed on the drive which contains the disk. No information can be read off or written on that disk as long as the chip is there. It also explains why, in the few cases free will has been restored, the victim Robian has no memories of any time since the last stage of their roboticization."  
"I don't understand, Nate," Amy said, confused. "I mean, I understand how it works, and I'm happy that we finally have a chance to beat Robuttnik, but what has all this got to do with me and Gamma?"  
"Well, Amy, I got to thinking--unlike the Shadowbots, Gamma has a personality disk. It is possible--probable, even--that we can deroboticize--or rather, un-roboticize--Gamma and he can be a normal hedgehog like you."  
"I have that chance?" Gamma demanded. "What are the risks?"  
"Well..." Nate drawled, "I think you do. The best case scenario is that it will work, but if we make a backup copy of your personality disk, the worst would be we'd have to build you another body. Of course if it worked we'd destroy the backup."  
"And I would be flesh-and-blood like Amy and you and everyone else I know?"  
"If it worked. Otherwise, several weeks of feeling dead again, but no permanent harm done."  
Amy looked at him. "It would be so wonderful, Gamma. You could lead a normal life."  
"People wouldn't stare at me, I could eat, touch, sleep..." Gamma put his head in his hands and thought over it a moment. "I wanna do it."  
"Are you sure, Gamma? The decision is yours," Nate said. "I have permission to do it as soon as we deroboticize Sonic's parents and the Robian 'prisoners', but no one will be disappointed if you don't want to take that risk."  
Gamma looked up at Nate. "No one but myself. With the worst case scenario you gave, it'd be stupid not to do this."  
"All right, Gamma. We'll be doing the others in the presence of all those who know about this tonight, here, in the workshop. You can come watch if you like. Then we can try it after the others leave, or we can wait, whenever."  
"ASAP suits me, what about you, Amy?"  
Amy smiled softly. "It's up to you. No matter what or when you decide, I'll be there for you all the way."  
Gamma looked at Nate. "Tonight it is, then."  
"Great. See you then."  
  
Authoress's Note: Ooh. More cliffhanging. Stay tuned. 


	6. A Creature of Flesh and Blood...?

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue. Gamma the Robian is mine. E-mail me if you want to use him. Renaissance Grrl@excite.com  
  
Amy and Gamma watched, quietly amazed, as Jules and Bernie, Sonic's parents, hugged their son as creatures of flesh and blood for the first time since Sonic was a toddler.  
It was almost funny--but also kind of sad and rather sobering--to watch the Robians kick and scream and fight not to be put in, but then cry with gratefulness when the process was over. It made Amy think of just how much had been lost in this war.   
As Nate had said, they had no memories of working for Robotnik, and one bewildered raccoon even thanked them for stopping the roboticizer in time. He cried a little when he realized he had been roboticized for six years; his small toddlers would be half-grown, and it would probably be several months before he found them--if they were alive and unroboticized to BE found. THAT made Amy think of all the poor deroboticized people who were going to find out that family had passed away, spouses had remarried and life had passed them by as if they had died.  
Finally the work was done. King Acorn presented Nate with a medal to recognize his accomplishments, and announced that in a few days Nate would be knighted Sir Nathaniel Beauregard Morgan.  
After all the others were gone, and Amy and Gamma had congratulated Nate, the real work began.  
Nate opened Gamma's back plate. He made a few connections from his special disk drive to Gamma and told the pair that creating the backup would take about five minutes. When that was done he disconnected Gamma and had him climb into the deroboticizer. Amy gave him a kiss on the cheek--"That's for good luck," she told him.  
Nate threw the switch and he and Amy watched with difficulty, all patience failing them.  
The deroboticizer whirred and beeped as it had for the Robians, lights flicking on and off as they monitored various aspects of the process.  
"It seems to be going okay," Nate told her, "but there's no way to be sure until the process is finished."  
"My fingers are crossed," Amy said. "Please, please let it work..."  
A moment elapsed in silence. The deroboticizer's metal cover lifted, and there before them stood...  
"Gamma!" Amy nearly screamed. "You're, you're..."  
"I know!" Gamma was completely flesh-and-blood. "I'm so happy, Amy." They embraced tightly. It took him a moment to catch his breath, after all, he had only taken his first one a few seconds before. There were tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.  
"Oh, Gamma...you're...so...handsome," Amy said in awe. "I can't believe how great you look! You look like you were never a robot."  
"That's the way I wanted it, Amy."  
Nate finally came over to admire Gamma. If it hadn't been for him, Gamma would never have become a living being, much less survived his post-battle wound from E-101. Gamma let go of Amy so Nate could see his "handiwork".  
"It worked even better than I thought," Nate said. "You even have shoes and gloves."  
"I know! Thank you so much, Nate. I really owe you, big time. Really. I'll never be able to return the favor..."  
"You already have, son, by being happy. That's all I want. Your left ear is still a little crooked, though," Nate said.  
Gamma put his hand up and felt it. "I don't care, Nate. It's just good to be alive."  
He took in a deep gulp of air and let it out again. "Man, that feels good!" He turned to Nate. "I can't thank you enough for giving me the chance to breathe."  
  
Authoress's Note: The way it is now, we could call this the finish. It would not take away from the story to end it here. Actually, I kind of like my ending senetnce. HOWEVER, there is another half-part on the way. Just a little sequel to tie up my one loose end. Anyway, now Gamma the HEDGEHOG is my character, and Gamma the ROBIAN is no more. E-mail address for permission remains the same. It's at the top in the disclaimer. 


	7. 

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of its characters, I just like to torture them. Please don't sue. Gamma the Hedgehog is mine. E-mail me for permission to use him. RenaissanceGrrl@excite.com  
  
Authoress's Note: Just a little bit of writing to tie up the loose end. Not important to the story but it makes the happy ending a bit happier.  
  
Gamma and Amy walked back home together.  
"It's late," Gamma said on the doorstep.  
"I know. Let's go on in and get some sleep."  
"No, no, let's wait a few minutes. I'm still getting used to senses instead of sensors."  
Amy grinned. "You look like you've been used to them for about fifteen years."  
"Is that how old I look? I guess I must have been thinking of myself that age, with this voice Nate gave me and being around you so much."  
"Yeah, I'd guess you're about fifteen. A year older than me, give or take a few months. I'm so happy for you, Gamma," Amy chirped. She hugged him again and leaned into his chest.  
Gamma took her chin in his hand turned her to look into his eyes.  
Both hedgehogs were taken by the moment, and they next thing they both knew, they were enveloped in a warm, affectionate kiss.  
"Gamma..." Amy gasped.  
"What? Did I...is that not what you wanted?"  
"No, no...I mean...that was...it was...I...I liked that." She smiled up at him.  
Gamma sighed, relieved and grinning. "I'm glad. I've been wanting to do that for a long time...but I never could. It was even more wonderful than I'd hoped for."  
"Oh..." Amy breathed, looking down. "You care, don't you? You really do care for me."  
"Yes. Yes I do, Amy. I've cared for a long time...I'm not sure when it started, but I wasn't aware of it until I found out I had a chance to be a living, breathing hedgehog. I think it may even have started before you rescued me."  
Amy dared to look back up into his eyes. "I...I care, too, Gamma...I really do care."  
Gamma looked down at her. "Then...this feeling...is...shared? I mean...you feel it too?" Amy blushed a little, but it was dark and Gamma could barely tell. She stood a little taller, halfway to tiptoe, and they kissed again.  
"Yes," she whispered, "It is."  
"Then I am the luckiest hedgehog alive, roboticized or not."  
  
Authoress's Note: AWWWW! That is so sweet! At any rate, I'm finished now. I got the story out of my system and I'm pleased with the results. (It WOULD NOT go away once it popped into my head.) Anyway, if you should just happen to be into Digimon or Early Edition, check out my fics there, please. Thanks for reading, and holding on until the end! 


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